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\outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 Public Meetings on New Fracking Regulations in the NWT
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC Northbeat Feature Interview, Friday, April 17, 2015, 6:00 p.m.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 RANDY HENDERSON, CBC: Hydraulic fracturing is something we\'92ve been talking a lot about this week. The Government of the Northwest Territories is touring communities presenting draft regulations on the controversial practice. Its asking for public input on what it says are rules based on the views and priorities of NWT residents. Shannon Scott was at the meetings in Fort Good Hope, Norman Wells and Tulita and she joins me now to talk about them. Shannon, are there any common concerns at these three meetings?
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\outl0\strokewidth0 SCOTT: Yeah, Randy, there were. We heard a lot of things in these meetings and it wasn\'92t just about the new regulations. In all three communities, there were lots of questions about fracking itself. People were looking for information, asking questions like is it safe, how will it be monitored, how do we know it won\'92t cause environmental damage, and even should it be allowed at all, but that\'92s not what the government had in mind when it set up these sessions. For the government these sessions are about the regulations and what people think about them. According to the Minister responsible, David Ramsay, the question of whether or not to frack isn\'92t on the table.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 RAMSAY: People are, you know, able to voice their concerns and their opinions and everybody is entitled to that. We have fracked a couple of wells here in the Northwest Territories, done it safely, securely and we\'92ve seen other jurisdictions have hundreds of thousands of wells that have been fracked, especially in western Canada. So we\'92re moving forward. We believe it can be done in a safe, secure manner.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC: So, Shannon, the government is moving forward with fracking and says it\'92s doing that with these made in the North regulations, but I understand that people have some questions about how these northern priorities were established.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 SCOTT: Yeah they did. Again, it was something that we\'92ve heard in all three stops on this tour. The government handed out an information package that says these new regulations reflect the views and priorities of NWT residents and people wanted to know who the government spoke to because they say no one came to their communities to talk to them about their priorities around fracking. I asked Ramsay about that this morning and he told me these northern priorities came from a report. It was issued by the Committee on Economic Development and Infrastructure. Ramsay says that report was issued after a two-year process, which included a trip to see some fracking operations in southern Canada. He says he doesn\'92t sit on that committee, so he couldn\'92t say exactly who they spoke to. I asked for clarification from the government about how the committee came up with these northern priorities and who they spoke to and in an email they told me that those views and priorities were identified through public engagements that were done around other issues, things like devolution, land use plans and water strategies. So there doesn\'92t seem to have been meetings about northern priorities when it comes specifically to fracking, but instead the government took what it heard people saying about environmental protection on other issues and applied that to the fracking regulations.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC: So was everyone who attended these meetings concerned about fracking?
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\outl0\strokewidth0 SCOTT: No, there were definitely some people who were for fracking, who were for the practice. Again, in all three communities there were some people who recognized the economic benefits and opportunities that it could bring. In Norman Wells we heard from some business people about how the economy there is dependent on oil and gas and fracking would bring much needed jobs to that area. In Tulita, I spoke with Gary Yakeleya, who is also businessman and he brought his son to the meeting to so they could both learn about it. He said he wants to see development and jobs in his community. In Fort Good Hope, we did hear people say that they\'92re not against development, they just want to be sure that they are consulted about it.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC: And, Shannon, what\'92s next for these meetings in the communities?
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\outl0\strokewidth0 SCOTT: So next the government heads to the Deh Cho starting with a session in Fort Simpson on Tuesday.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC: All right thanks, Shannon.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 SCOTT: You\'92re welcome.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC Radio, Monday, April 20, 2015, 6:30/8:30 a.m.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 JUANITA TAYLOR, CBC: The Minister for Industry is not saying whether there will be a public meeting to talk about a ban of fracking. Currently there are meetings underway to look at proposed fracking regulations, but many at those meetings want to talk about a ban or a moratorium on the controversial gas extraction method. David Ramsay is inviting Aboriginal leaders to separate meetings to talk about the regulations.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 RAMSAY: The question is not whether we\'92re going to have a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. It\'92s what people think of the, you know, made in the North regulatory requirements for hydraulic fracturing here in the NWT.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC: The government has set out 90 days for feedback on the new rules. The government will continue its public engagement sessions on the draft regulations this week in the Deh Cho. The first meeting is scheduled for tomorrow in Fort Simpson.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC Radio, Monday, April 20, 2015, 7:30 a.m.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 JUANITA TAYLOR, CBC: This week people in the Deh Cho will get a chance to hear about the territorial government\'92s new draft fracking regulations. The sessions will start in Fort Simpson tomorrow. While touring the Sahtu Region last week, people were not happy that no Ministers or MLAs were there, some calling it disrespectful. We asked the Minister for Industry, David Ramsay, to respond to that.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 RAMSAY: I\'92m briefed after each and every meeting. There will be a thorough report compiled and given to Cabinet at the end of the process and we\'92ll be making some decisions. We take very seriously the comments that the public has. So we\'92re following it very closely, but we can\'92t be at all the meetings, not going to happen.
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\outl0\strokewidth0 CBC: While in the Sahtu there were calls for a moratorium on fracking. Ramsay says this was not what these meetings are about. He says it\'92s possible that discussions could come later, but these meeting are to gather feedback on regulations, not fracking itself.
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